Ok,

 Im not a coach, i have never played football but i watch it all the time. 

 Would that statement make it easier for me to make my point.  The past couple of weeks, while still trying to be a calming force around these parts, i have been critized for being a coach, who has lived football his entire life, who runs shafers schemes,and likes to help fellow michigan fans get a different perspective.I dont ever claim to be anything other than what i am.  When someone asks me a football question i answer it,  could there be another answer?  sure, but as a football coach you know what you know, and you do what you do.  There are 20 ways to skin a cat, and i just happend to be good a skinning it the way i do.  Doesnt mean im smarter than anyone, doesnt mean i know more about michigan than anyone, but i would think at the very least, it would be at least feasable that i know a little about football. 

There, have at it,  give me the  "anyone can see that"  and "i dont have to be a coach to know_____"  and "if you think _____ you must not be a very good coach"  and all that crap. 

The one thing i will admit, is that i will always give the benefit of doubt to a coach first,  becasue thats what i do for a living,  just like former baseball umpires dont yell at umps as bad, usually.  Or former policeman are less crtical about the pigs. etc etc.   So sure i may overly defend coaching sometimes,  but that is what it is.  If you dont like it dot read my stuff.   I think im pretty open with everyone about who i am, what i do, and all that stuff.  I could very easliy make stuff up to look more knowledgeable, or demand to know everyone elses exerience with college football, and post resumes to make my point.  But i dont really care about that, i know i set myself up for people to be able to attack, but thats just kind of my personality, i dont really give a crap about anyone elses feelings about me.

Now about the coverage stuff.    Shafer isnt a stack guy, but the stack was used this week, as a way of trying to stop what was assumed to be a fast qb, who problaby couldnt throw,and a farily good run game.  It has been stated before, by numerous people, the 3-3 stack is a run stopping odd front. and for the most part it did its job.   The 3-3 stack is a good defense against a spread formation,  as it keeps 6 in the box, while still putting people on the perimeter for contain purposes. You are limited in coverage though when you run the stack,l which is why i dont like to run it very often.   Obvioulsy this isnt the way shafer likes to attack spreads,  he is a two safety guy.  But MICHIGAN SAFETIES ARE NOT GOOD.  and lb's are not good at coverage, and when michigan played press man a majority of the time the other week, they still lost.  So shafer tries what RR and his staff wants him to try,  why not try it now?  why not try it against the one team that you might be able to win agaisnt and find a way to keep big plays from happening with a new scheme? them maybe you have found something that you can pull out agin against OSU, or at least give OSU something else to think about.   I truely believe that shafer and RR both are feeling the pressure to show that they can try new things, and not be stagnit.  Its almost impossible to get better fundametnally during the season, becasue of constantly having to put so much time into installation, and game prep for the upcomming team.  When you hear a coach talk about "returning to basics"  thats when they have basically given up trying to win, and instead are more interested in making the team better fundamentally, for the future.  Im sure RR and his staff would like to do this, but as you can see, the michigan fan base, and the michgian family is not interested in seeing imporvement, they are interested in results.  So i see Shafer and RR as being a product of the problem with an impatient fan base, and an impatient comunity that is demanding wins NOW.  therefore they are trying to schematiclly overcome the obvious fundamental problems that michigan defesive football has had for the past several years.  

Has he blitzed a ton?  yes,  has he playd a lot of press man? yes  Has he played a lot fire zone coverage? yes..   has he taken away fades by playing an outsidee shade, only to see seams exploited time and time again for big plays, which created easier opportunites to score, than having to complete 20  short outs?  yes..   has he tried to play inside shades, only for corners to be beaten time and time again on fade routes? yes...   

the one guy on the field that throws int's is the qb.   therefore eyes on qb if you are a corner playing zone coverage,  sure trent is lined up on an inside shade a bit,  to discourage a easy vertcal realease. Also the Qb at the snap of the ball sdoesnt knwo weather you are playing off man, or bail technique, of course knowing how BAD michigan corners are right now in playing man, i would assume he knows its cover three, but if its not, then that corner will be able to make a play on yoru out call, and it might be a pic six.  but once the reciever goes vertcal he should be working to get "on top"  and trying to squeeze him to the sideline...  his main problem on that screen was opening the door, and not getting on top of the reciever, as far as  "no way he can turn all the way around and make a play on that out" way of talking about the zone turn to the QB,   corners every day work on zone turns, and t-step drives,  its exactly what you are suppose to do,  1 guess as to who teaches the t-step drive step as good as anyone?  The back foot is planted at a 90 degree angle directly back,  then the outside foot  serves as the "drive step" at the direction of the cut,  We use terms  like "get your foot in the biucket" and "drive off the T" to talk exactly about how we want it to be executed,   its very easy for a corner with good fluid hips, but trent (like i have said a million times) does not have fluid hips.   trent isnt very good,  and isnt going to make a play on that.  AND HE IS NOT USUING HTE TECHNIQUE THAT HE IS BEING TAUGHT, to try to make that  play. BUt  id  rather it be like that,   then to give up an  an easy hit to a vertical seam.  An out route, is a lot harder ball to throw for an unproven QB, than an easy slant or skinny post....   first throw a combine coach asks a young qb to throw, is an out accross the field.

The other issue is that trent has no safety help, therefore he cant be over agressive on the out,  but that is the price you pay for running a 3 deep look... but its not designed to stop that throw its designed to stop the big play,  which michigan has given up far too much this year.   I know it doesnt explain everything, but i felt like i needed to defend a bit that i see a lot of bad techiniqe, and knowing how shafer teaches, i know its not what they are being taught to do.  Is it mistrust?  is it players not trying, or players not beleive in shafer?  or is it just a bunch of guys who are feeling a lot of presure to succed, not being able to call on muslce memory to play the techniqes becAuse they have only been taught it for less then a year?  i think its problaby more the latter.

You are also inthe picture pages, seeing the difference between a well exectued out route pass and catch, and a poorly run, poorly thrown hitch route...    Trent would have been in much better position to play the hitch route, expicallly if he had threet throwing it at him.